How to Travel Without Ruining Everything
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Vacation is fun, everybody knows that. Everybody also knows about the “vacation creep” that often comes after days and days of drinking in the sun, carbs, sugar and highly irregular sleep. Symptoms include (but are not limited to) bloating, puffiness, fatigue, digestive distress, sickness, breakouts (and breakups), mood swings, angry outbursts, and general feelings of insanity.
“YOLO” culture encourages a complete disintegration of our usual boundaries in favor of fun, fomo, and the idea that more is always better. Where’s the self-respect in crumbling under the pressure of another Cronut when you already feel absolutely ILL? This is not to say we shouldn’t treat ourselves, try new things, and experience joy—life is about being flexible and not taking anything too seriously. However, the problem occurs when we take it too far.
I like to call this phenomenon the “fuck it” mentality. The mentality sinks is the second we tell ourselves, “I already did x today, why not do y?”, or “today is already a failure, so I give myself permission to double down and really fuck things up”. This black-and-white thinking is dangerous because rather than allowing for moderation, it uses shame to make us spiral and self-destruct. The “fuck it” mentality is why most people struggle with intuitive eating, why “everything in moderation” usually fails, and why we can’t have nice things.
There is a fine line between joy and ruining everything. Unfortunately, many of us couldn’t find this line even if it stalked us like Martha in Baby Reindeer. BALANCE, forever allusive, is worth striving for if only because in the contrast, there’s hope that we may momentarily feel better. It allows us to enjoy the good stuff more. It’s non-negotiable for me to unapologetically do what works for me. For more on travel boundaries, including not caring what anyone else things about your dinner, hop on over to the Healthy(ish) NYC Guide.
Below, find my tips for keeping it all together on-the-go without sacrificing a grand time. These hacks help keep me in line, staving off any serious consequences or grave illness. Take them with you on your next trip and thank me later.
1. Move daily
Super simple. After a meal, walk, even if it’s just 10 minutes. I love to sweat because it keeps me sane and opens up detox pathways, but even if you don’t schedule a workout, aim for 10,000 steps. It’s about daily practice, not perfection. Notice how you feel on days you don’t move versus when you do. Daily movement stabilizes blood sugar, promotes mental health, flushes toxins, and is a way to practice self-care during stressful times.
You will enjoy special meals and treats more, and you will be more inclined to stop when you’re full and practice moderation, when you feel like you’re doing something positive as well. Exercise makes us feel good in our body, so naturally we are less inclined to make dietary choices that would sabotage that. It’s also much easier to return to our normal routines when we haven’t let it all go on vacation.
Ways to Move While Traveling:
On layovers, literally just walk up and down the concourse in the airport, end to end, for as long as you can
Walk everywhere
Find time to take a long walk or go on a run to get the lay of the land where you are. I always like to be oriented where I am, and getting outside also helps you to ground and offset jetlag.
Do a Melissa Wood workout in your room, even if it’s just 15 minutes
Schedule ACTIVE activities, like hiking, snorkeling, shopping, touring a site or museum, or other form of non-sedentary entertainment or exploring.
Hit hotel gym
Try a local workout, or search Google/Yelp for “infrared sauna” to get a good sweat in
2. Practice “crowding out”.
By eating as much REAL, WHOLE food as possible, whenever available, we will naturally “crowd out” less favorable foods. It doesn’t mean we CAN’T have certain foods, but saying yes to whole foods first (and any time we can), it automatically creates less room for unhealthier options. This happens without any extra effort from us.
A big part of this is not showing up to an event starving, especially one that may not have many healthy options. It’s like grocery shopping hungry… not a great idea. Without needing to be in control of what’s being served (although if you are in that position, great), have some fruit, nuts, carrots, turkey slices, cheese etc. as a snack to curb hunger.
If you’re hosting, add real foods to the appetizers (apple slices, flax crackers, carrots/crudite, protein), serve greens first, and create opportunities for guests to alternate their less optimal choices with better ones.
3. Pick your sugars and carbs wisely.
Pick your favorites, and nix the ones you can do without. For me, I am happy to opt out of dessert in favor of cocktails or wine. I prefer savory anyway, and I find that cutting other sugar (only stevia in coffee, no pastries or sweets) keeps my blood sugar stable and helps me avoid cravings. Others might want a sweet treat after dinner, but as a trade-off they just have liquor and soda and limit it to 1-2 drinks. Our bodies just truly can’t handle it all at once—the syrupy cocktails, unbridled pasta and pizza, glucose spikes at breakfast, dinner, and everywhere in between, etc. Pick and choose what’s most important to you, and enjoy it without ruining everything.
Obviously, if you can travel without sugar or processed carbs (fried foods, gluten, pastries, bread), you are almost certainly guaranteed to come out alive by the end, regardless of your choices around alcohol.
4. At restaurants, focus on grilled/roasted protein and simply prepared vegetables.
Skip the dishes with a lot of complex elements, too many sauces, or unrecognizable ingredients. Opt for the simplest preparation (saute, steam, roast, bake, grill, or raw) over harsher, less healthy methods (frying, anything “crispy”).
Make good choices easier by picking better cuisines. Don’t torture yourself at super slutty restaurants. You’ll likely crack.
BEST → mediterranean, greek, middle eastern, small plates/tapas, steakhouses, modern american, modern mexican
WORST → french, italian, asian fusion, fast food, fried food, chain restaurants, and airport restaurants.
At airports, avoid most of the restaurants, especially the bar-type establishments. Go to Hudson/CIBO (also, still wondering Who Yassified CIBO Express?) and pick up water, fresh fruit, raw/dry-roasted nuts, hardboiled eggs, cheese sticks, no sugar meat sticks, dried mango, and other unprocessed snacks without sugar or excess empty carbs.
5. Add cleansing activities.
Cleansing does not mean dieting or restricting. Cleansing activities help your body let go of toxins or foods that can cause discomfort and inflammation. Alternating indulgent meals or activities with these practices gives our body much-needed balance.
Fasting → after a big meal, giving our digestion a break is one of the most healing and foolproof ways to stay in balance. Wait until noon the next day to have solid food. If you can, go even 16 or 18 hours between meals. You will find it much easier to bounce back when intermittent fasting is one of your tools.
Sweating → sweating opens up one of the most important liver detox pathways. When we go day after day of drinking, eating, sleeping, drinking, eating, sleeping, toxins build up and we get puffy, inflamed, lethargic, moody, and generally feel like shit. Sweat it out to let it go.
Add antioxidants and cleansing foods → fresh-pressed celery or green juice (without apple or other fruit), ginger, lemon, wheatgrass, wild blueberries, spirulina, chlorophyll drops, milk thistle, nettle and spearmint teas. All things that make it easier for your body to do its job.
Reduce toxic burden → aka, less for the liver and other detox organs to worry about. Opt for stevia instead of sugar in your coffee, avoid toxic beauty and cleaning products, get fresh air whenever possible.
Sleep → rest is important to fuel our body’s ability to detox and keep it’s side of the aisle clean.
6. Use blood sugar-balancing tips to avoid spikes when indulging.
—aka, less crashes, cravings, and impact on weight and metabolism.
Eat foods in the right order → 1. Fiber (greens, salad, fruit, veg), 2. Protein and Fats, 3. Starches and Sugars. That pre-meal bread basket is not your friend.
Veggie starters → reduces the glucose spike of the meal that follows.
Pair carbs with protein, fat, and fiber → FATS = olive oil, avocado, butter, nuts/seeds, cheese. FIBER = vegetables, greens, fruit. PROTEIN = chicken, steak, eggs, meat. For example, instead of having just an apple, have it with 1 oz of sharp cheddar or 2 T of unsweetened nut butter.
Avoid sugar → skipping dessert will help curb cravings and give you more control over your choices. Once you cut it for a week, you will stop craving it. This also means added sugar, like sweetened drinks, cocktails (permission to get the martini, and NOT espresso), energy bars, yogurt, granola/breakfast cereal, alternative milks (ask the barista if it’s sweetened; “barista blend” usually is), salad dressing, condiments like ketchup and BBQ sauce (high fructose corn syrup!), and other processed snacks (read labels).
After you eat, move → after meals, when you can, use your muscles for 10 minutes to reduce the glucose spike of the meal. Examples: walking, tidying your house, doing calf raises, etc.
Stop counting calories → all calories are not created equal. Food impacts our body in a much more nuanced way than just “calories in, calories out”, acting as a catalyst for many other processes that facilitate weight, hormones, the gut, and more.
Have a savory breakfast → composed of protein (eggs, chicken sausage, protein powder), healthy fat (avocado, olive oil, butter, nut butter), fiber (greens, veg), optional starches, and nothing sweet except optional whole fruit. Examples → Chili Eggs with Goat Cheese Avocado and Herbs.
All sugars have the same impact on blood sugar, whether refined (white sugar) or natural (honey). The only exception is zero-calorie sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit → if you indulge, have the one you prefer. For added sweetness without impacting blood sugar, opt for stevia, monk fruit, or allulose.
If you want a snack, go savory → give us clean energy without the cravings. Think sugar-free jerky, eggs, nuts/seeds, cheese, fruit, turkey slices, avocado, etc. Avoid sweet snacks—better to eat sweets as dessert after meals than on their own in between meals.
Drink vinegar → 1 T can be taken in a glass of water (with a straw), or as a salad dressing, ideally up to 20 minutes before a meal. This reduces the spike of your meal by up to 30%. I like Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar “with the mother” (this is good-gut bacteria!).
Take Gymnema or Anti-Spike prior to carb and sugar-rich meals → proven to reduce the blood sugar spike.
7. Take your routines with you.
Products I use that help me feel great and stay consistent when traveling:
Travel AM/PM Pill Case and small pill boxes for your purse/bag
ARMRA Colostrum — amazing for gut, digestion, and not getting sick
Mag-07 — gamechanger for unhappy digestion on the road
Magnesium Spray — before bed, spray on belly and feet (tops + bottoms) and rub in well. aids sleep, digestion, and bloating
Beauty tools — facial sculpting bar, gua sha
Teas — everyday detox, peppermint (digestion/belly ache), spearmint (hormonal acne/reduces inflammation), organic unsmoked yerba mate (“nature’s ozempic"). great and easy for plane or hotel
For all my Amazon travel faves, check out this guide.
8. Hotel and airbnb hacks:
Email the hotel in advance and ask that they not to stock the mini bar with candy and chips. Hotels do this a lot for guests. Many of my clients love this hack. Under the heading of making bad choices HARDER and good choices EASIER.
Bring/buy healthy snacks to keep in the room. Easy to hit a bodega/grocery store near the hotel to stock up if you don’t plan in advance. Always smart not to show up to an event hungry, especially if you know there won’t be many healthy options, so “crowd out” by eating a better snack in advance. You’ll be less likely to overeat later or make questionable decisions → dry roasted or raw nuts (I love Karma nuts) or unsweetened nut butter packets, whole fruit, sugar-free meat snacks (New Primal, Paleovalley, Chomps), cheese, organic turkey slices, hard boiled eggs, crackers (Simple Mills regular or cheddar, Top SEEDZ 6 Seed or Ella’s Flats) or clean protein bars (BTR Nation, ALOHA).
Find all my healthy snack reccs HERE, and protein-specific ideas HERE.
If you’re somewhere with a kitchen/kitchenette, grab some grocery essentials to make quick "healthy fast food" meals and sncaks. You can make a great bowl with staples like greens, avocado, apple, nuts/seeds, clean dressing, and topped with Salmon Salad (drained canned salmon, mayo, lemon, dijon, salt and pepper). This salmon salad is a superfood and can also be enjoyed with flax or almond flour crackers as a snack. STAPLES →
boxes of arugula/spring mix, pre-chopped romaine/cabbage
apples, avocados, red onion, and other chopped veg you like in salads
chopped raw/dry roasted nuts or pumpkin seeds
1 jar of avocado oil mayo (Primal Kitchen or Chosen Foods)
1 jar of Maille Dijon
couple lemons
sea salt and pepper.
9. Pause before giving in to a craving.
Take a beat, and first ask yourself why you’re craving it—are you bored? Hungover? Stressed? Is it just readily available and in front of you? Is it just the time of day you’re used to eating, ie is it out of habit? Is it peer pressure, and not actually a craving? Once you determine the reason, then you can move forward from a place of empowerment and control.
Investigating the craving helps create self-awareness and mindfulness, which then helps you make a more informed decision.
No shame if you choose to say yes to the craving, but you’re doing so having acknowledged the reason and taken action from a more aware place.
This also goes along with mindful eating in general—slow down and enjoy, savor, and pay attention to how you feel after.
Common Reasons for Cravings → lack of sleep, hangover, stress, boredom, habit, peer pressure, or the time of a woman’s cycle.
9. Focus on the company.
A good vacation is nourishing on a deep level beyond just the food on our plate (hence the phrase “soul food”). Diet and relationships are both important ways we fill our cup. Both fulfill us in different ways. Ever experience emotional eating when feeling alone, lonely, or bored? In those times, we are often lacking a key form of nourishment and our body feels dysregulated, so in an attempt to fill that “hole”, emotional eating can be a coping mechanism. Whatever your relationship is like with family, or if you’re traveling with your “family of friends”, it is likely you will be surrounded by people in your life who matter. Take the opportunity to cherish the company.
10. Consider the big picture.
Enjoy all the other fabulous reasons we travel other than our next meal. Get grounded and be present.
Eat mindfully. Don’t inhale your food, and try to chew it fully before taking another bite. Focus on the conversation. Eat sitting down without distraction. Good eating hygiene improves digestion and signals fullness so we don’t overeat.
Remember that feeling good during your travels will actually make you enjoy it more. We all hate that morning-after haunting feeling after going too wild. Enjoy, in moderation, but don’t lose your mind. Try to have an unattached attitude towards meals. Enjoy the things you’re doing and people you’re with and fun opportunities to indulge in your chosen way, or enjoy the nice weather. Nourish yourself but don’t overthink it. Eat fruits and vegetables when you can, and drink water.
Celebrate when you make better choices!!! Notice how satisfying it is to enjoy a delicious balanced meal without overfullness. Don't deprive yourself (eat enough), but make it high quality. Progress, not perfection.
It’s about balance, and every moment is a clean slate. Don’t beat yourself up after a bad meal or overeating, etc. Be kind and empathetic to yourself. The past is the past, nothing more than a learning opportunity. Every meal and every moment is an opportunity to turn the day around and make a newer, better, healthier choice.
Byeeeee
Super helpfu!